Trial of Pilgrimage
The Trial of Pilgrimage (巡礼の試み, Junrei no Kokoromi) is a challenge that Bishokuyas put themselves through to test their training and to see if they are capable of taking on the Gourmet World. Description Due to the large number of Bishokuyas who had died trying to enter the Gourmet World and since the destruction of most of the Human World from the Meteor Spice, the IGO has determined and set up a Trial that has the Bishokuya having to try and capture 12 different Beasts and Ingredients that have all been considered near Godly Labors of the Human World. The Trials First Trial The First Beast that must be captured in the Trial of Pilgrimage is a Mors Catamount that lives in and around the Mors Mountain Range. It is a highly aggressive, territorial and dangerous beast due to the razor-sharp claws and fangs and the immense strength the Beasts possesses. What makes this Beast difficult to capture is the impenetrable fur that protects it from any and all weapons, be they man-made or from nature, and how incredibly difficult and time consuming it is to properly prepare the meat of the beast. Second Trial The Second Trial is to gather the petals of a Hydra Blossom, a flowering, carnivorous plant that grows in the Southern Wul Continent near bodies of water. Part of the challenge of capturing this ingredient is that there are certain times of the year in which the petals taste the best, giving it a short time frame for capture. Next is that if any of the vines of the plant are cut, then two new blossoms will immediately grow and attack. The liquids that have been taken in by the Hydra Blossom become highly toxic and corrosive, so cutting the vines becomes even more dangerous and if the entire plant is killed then the entire plant becomes toxic. Finally, the Hydra Blossom is the main food source of Aero Serpents, a flying Reptile Beast that will defend its nutritional source. Third Trial Next is the Drifting Hind. The first task in this trial is to find one of these beasts; they will usually appear at any body of water anywhere in the Human World, usually tainted water for these beasts have the ability to purify it with their bronze hooves, so being in the right place at the right time is very difficult and requires much patience. Once a beast appears, it will immediately begin the test. These beasts test speed, agility and intellect rather than brute force so once one appears and senses one who wishes to be tested, it will immediately start testing the individual. It will start running and it's the hunter's jobs to try to outrun the beast or out maneuver the beast. These beasts are not violent ones though, they will not attack those being tested; they want to see if the individual can out maneuver them. This is, however the most straight forward of the tests; simply catch one of these beasts and it will approve that one is ready. It will show them by making them the famous Drifter's Tea. Fourth Trial The Fourth Trial to be completed is to get the meat of a Boring Boar, which lives on the same continent as Heavy Hole. It is a very violent and territorial Beast that spends its entire life digging deep tunnels around the continent. Just one step into one of their tunnels and they will know you are in their territory, so there is no sneaking up on them. Also, the dirt on that continent is special once it gets deep enough, in that it starts to absorb visible light, making it pitch black with no way of making it any brighter. Any kind of outside light source will go out almost immediately once it is brought deep enough underground. All the light that gets absorbed goes into the Melk Stardust. This means that this challenge must be completed without ones eyesight as the Boring Boar never attacks until sometime after you enter this area of darkness. This lack of a major sense, along with the boars wild fierceness is what makes this a suitable test for entering Gourmet World. Fifth Trial Sixth Trial The sixth creature that those attempting the Trial of Pilgrimage are to attempt to capture are the Steel Wings that live in the Swamp of Antiquity in Regal Island of the 1st Biotope. Due to the highly aggressive nature of these Bird Beasts and the fact that they're never outside of a flock, along with the fact that their feathers can be launched at prey makes these creatures incredibly dangerous. In order to pass this Trial, those attempting it can do one of two things: capture a Steel Wing or capture a Steel Wing Egg. It is unclear which task is the easier of the two and it depends highly on the skill set of those attempting the trial as to which task they should attempt. Seventh Trial The Seventh Trial to be completed on the Pilgrimage is the Cretan Bull and is said to roam around the deepest parts of the Death Season Forest just behind the Gates of Hell. The beasts are known for being one of the most protective of all creatures in the forest, especially when it comes to a herd of them, and the alpha that protects them against any beast or foe that might try to hurt them. When enraged, it causes them to go in a blinding fury that even shows to cause a reaction to the bones that are embedded into their bodies as their attacks get more and more aggressive to a point of even causing the herd to flee in fear. In order for the trial to be passed, the one taking the trial must somehow find a way to calm the Cretan Bull Alpha down while in it's most aggressive state yet, taming it and getting it to allow it's bone-like mask as a trophy. Eighth Trial Ninth Trial Tenth Trial The tenth ingredient chosen to be part of the Trials is the Deep Sea Cow. These large marine mammals live in Geryon Trench, but can only be captured when they come up for air once a year in Eurytion Sea. This sea is considered the harshest in all of Human World, that even the sturdiest of ship cannot last very long without capsizing. The problem with capturing them is that they come up for air at a different time each year, as they don't stay underwater for exactly a year, instead it's roughly one year. The only way to tell that they will be coming up for air is that the sea starts bubbling with large air bubbles from all the sea cows breathing out as they swim up. And in order to capture one, you need to be there at the time they pop up for air, because as soon as they finish taking a breath they will already be well on their way back down to the bottom of the ocean. This is because despite the fact that they are slow swimmers, they are one of the very few animals that can read the currents of that sea, which they use to their advantage in order to move quickly up and down. While Deep Sea Cows aren't dangerous themselves, there are plenty of Orthrus Sharks living in that sea that will attack anything that is near them. The fact that the window to get them is open for such a small time, as well as the guardian sharks and crazy sea they show up in make it suitable to be the Tenth Trial. Eleventh Trial Twelfth Trial Trivia *Symbols of the Trial of Pilgrimage are the Marigold, representing the "Despair" of failure, and the Dahlia, representing the "Good Taste" that is pursued both during the Trials and upon reaching the Gourmet World *The First and Last Trials have the same Capture Levels Behind the Scenes *Idea by Lee, brought on by a question from Bash *Name suggested by Phantom *The Trials are based off of the 12 Labors of Heracles *The image in the infobox is the Marigold symbol of the Third Division from Bleach Category:Trial of Pilgrimage